


The Sleeping Prince

by ElfGrove



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Sleeping Beauty Fusion, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fluff, Keith as Prince Phillip, M/M, Magic, Minor Hunk/Lance (Voltron), Prince Keith (Voltron), Prince Shiro (Voltron), Shiro as Sleeping Beauty, Sigurd and Brynhild, Sleeping Beauty Elements, Volsunga Saga Elements, sickening levels of fairy tale style fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-11 08:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13520019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfGrove/pseuds/ElfGrove
Summary: A Sleeping Beauty inspired fairy tale AU starring Shiro and Keith, and other Voltron characters. I will also be pulling elements from Sigurd and Brynhild's tale in the Volsunga Saga as a different kind of Sleeping Beauty reference to keep things fresh.





	1. Once Upon a Time...

**Author's Note:**

> **Inspired by @lunariiums' tweet: https://twitter.com/lunariiums/status/956195290717065217  
> **  
>  and encouraged by @spaceconfession.
> 
> This will not be a straight Disney Sleeping Beauty adaptation. I will be pulling elements from Disney, Perrault, and the "Sleeping Beauty" tale of the Volsunga Saga with Sigurd and Brynhild on top of making my own twists using more Celtic-inspired Faery Lore. 
> 
> The first chapter will heavily lean on Perrault's traditional Fairy Tale style to set up our tale then become more character driven in subsequent chapters. Please enjoy.

Long ago, there lived a Queen and King who said every day, "If only we had a child!" But for a long time, they had none.

One day, as the Queen was out walking between the training fields, as tradition in her country dictated women organize the household and finances, and their kingdom had long been one known for conquering, so the soldiers fell as much under her purview as her husband's -- she was approached by a robed stranger with long, white hair. Being a wise queen, she recognized this must be one of the Fae and she must be careful not to give offense.

When the hooded figure motioned her to follow into the gardens, she did.

The Fae turned back to her, sunlight reflecting off skin a strange hue more similar to the roses than any shade of man and spoke in a voice that seemed to echo with music, "Your wish shall be fulfilled.  Before a year has passed you shall bring a daughter into the world."

The Queen wanted a child very badly, and knew her husband wanted one even more, but she thought of her peace-loving husband who was making such great efforts to turn the kingdom towards more exploration and trade than conquering and of how despite all her power in this kingdom's traditions, a Princess would have to marry someone who might not share the King's admirable goals, and how a Princess would grow to be like her, endlessly practical and with a strong mind toward finance and strategy. She wanted a child more like her husband, with the freedom to continue his lofty ambitions. She also knew to refuse a boon from the Fae outright would be a foolish act.

"Kind stranger," She spoke imploringly. "You bring such joyous news to my home and my lands, please come to feast with us tonight as thanks. I could not be happier but if you were to tell me I would have a son who could lead this kingdom in the footsteps of the King himself."

"Would a son truly please you more, Good Queen?"

"A healthy and happy child would please me most." She smiled and gestured towards the castle invitingly, "But yes, a son would bring me the most joy."

"There are costs to haggling over a gift, O' Wise Queen."

"That is not my intention, My Good Neighbor."

The Fae halted in her steps at this, recognizing that the Queen knew her for what she was, but still continued to the castle and accepted the rich meal and a night in the finest guest chambers. The good food and gracious hosting of the Queen and King made her quite pleased, so much that she nearly forgot the Queen's attempt at bargaining for a son. But the bed in which the Fae slept was held together with iron nails and she woke more irritable than she had been before the feast.

As she was an old Fae and used to the more warlike history of the kingdom, she did not understand the more peaceful and forgiving times the King was trying to usher in, nor did she comprehend that they had not intended harm. She assumed the iron-laced bed had been intentional, to force her to give the Queen and King the son they wanted. She had already offered the boon, and tradition meted that she could not rescind the offer of a gift, but she could alter it.

The Queen and King met her at the gates to leave the castle grounds where she turned on them both in a snarl, "Your wish shall be fulfilled.  Before a year has passed you shall have a son, beautiful and clever, but for scorning my initial gift and giving me an iron bed to sleep in there will be a heavy price. You shall know it when it comes, and will think better than to try to trick the Fae again."

The Queen and King were both excited and frightened by this news and swore they would find a way around any curse this Fae could send at them. They had not realized there was iron in the bed and had not intended to offend the Fae Woman. The bed was dashed to splinters that same day and burned in hopes it would appease the angry Fae, and rich gifts were left for her at the garden spot where she had made the first offer to the Queen.

A year and a day later, the Queen gave birth to a beautiful son with bright clever eyes the color of storm clouds and hair as dark as night. It was clear the boy would grow to be a great beauty, but still the Queen and King were afraid of the price the Fae Woman would claim for the child's birth.

So they decided to hold a grand Naming Ceremony celebration and sent invites out to their friends, family, and neighboring kingdoms. They invited the Fae too, hoping that they would be good and kind to the newborn Prince. There were thirteen Faerie Nobles in the kingdom, but the King and Queen only had 12 golden plates from which the Fae could dine safely. Afraid to accidentally do harm and incur the wrath of another Fae, they only invited the first twelve Fae they could get word to, not knowing the identity of the Fae Woman who had given them their child nor from which Faerie Noble House she had come or what her standing was in the houses.

An amazing feast was held and when it came to an end, each of the Faerie Nobles presented the child with one magic gift. One gave him virtue, another beauty, a third riches, a fourth strength of limb, a fifth grace, and so on -- everything that any young prince could wish for.

After eleven of the Fae had presented their gifts, the thirteenth suddenly appeared in a great booming crack of thunder and flash of light. It was the Fae Woman from before, furious at having not been invited to the celebration.

Without hesitation she announced, "All these wondrous things shall the Prince be, beautiful and graceful, kind and clever without compare! But when the Prince turns twenty-one years old, he shall prick himself with a spindle and fall down dead!"

Without another word, she turned and left the hall, leaving a terrifying silence in her wake.

The guests were horrified, and the Queen rushed over to her son's crib, falling next to it sobbing. They had tried so hard not to offend, and she had only asked for a son in hopes of making the best future for their child and kingdom. It seemed it was all for naught, and they had only had their child just to lose him just has he reached manhood.

The twelfth Faerie Noble stepped forward then, golden eyes sharp as she looked over the child, arms folded thoughtfully in her green and white robes. Her magic could not remove the curse of the Faerie Haggar, but she could soften it, so she took out her wand and spoke, "Your son shall not die, but instead fall into a deep sleep. Clad him in armor and lay him to rest in the tower on Mount Hindafjall. When someone of true heart and great need comes and rescues him, he shall wake and live again as though no time has passed."

The Queen and King thanked the Faerie Pidge profusely and saw their guests away. But as we have said, the Queen was a practical and strategic woman. She did not want to lose her son even to sleep and knew her kingdom would need an heir before too many years went by. Thus she made a plan to prevent the curse from ever coming to pass. The Queen and King passed a decree that all spindles in the kingdom were to be destroyed and burned. The King made trade agreements for the cloth and thread that could no longer be produced with the lack. They further decreed that no one should tell the Prince nor speak of the curse so that he would not worry nor be saddened by the spiteful Fae's threat. Last, iron bars were installed over every window and entrance to the castle grounds such that no Fae could approach the castle again and curse the Queen and King a third time.

Such was it that the Prince grew up just as promised. He was graceful and beautiful, modest and kind, clever and strong. Many royals from neighboring countries came to visit the Prince at the castle, for his parents discouraged him to travel abroad. But through his charm he made friends easily and was well on his way to furthering alliances with the neighboring kingdoms. It seemed nothing could touch him, and that he would continue his Father's legacy of a peaceful future for the once warlike kingdom.

Still, his parents were afraid for him. Fae curses were nothing to be taken lightly and the Faerie Haggar was still out in the world somewhere. So as the Prince grew older, they reached out to three of the Faerie Nobles they had remained on good terms with for advice.

After many conferences held well outside the iron-ringed castle it was agreed that the Prince should live away for a time, in hopes that the Faerie Haggar might lose interest or forget the Prince if he were not where she expected to find him, and he could return home after his twenty-first year had passed safely. The Queen and King agreed to this on the condition that the three Faerie Nobles looked after his raising themselves, as they could imagine no other way to keep him safe outside the castle.

They agreed, and a young Prince Takashi of Agnar was spirited away in the night to live in a deep forest with three Faerie Nobles: Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. There, he would be known only by the nickname Shiro, until the day when it was safe for him to return and claim his crown.


	2. The Heroic Prince

\- Keith/Kogane -

Three swords. Three swords before he'd finally gotten a satisfactory one. The white and red enamel that decorated the hilt and gilded the blade added to its strength as well as the beauty of it. He could finally go out into the world to make his own way of things.

As the youngest Prince of Volsung, his future was uncertain. Likely he would be married off to cement a treaty or act as an ambassador or advisor when his brother Thace took the throne. Thace was the Crown Prince, and nearly ready to ascend the throne. Lotor, as second born, was already promised command of the military and to be Thace's right hand. It was hard to hold it too much against them, Lotor's cunning mind was well suited to military stratagem and Thace had been raised to be King. He didn't begrudge them their places.

Kogane only wished he knew his own.

It had been easier when he was younger and more foolish. Traveling with his Father or elder brothers to oversee the Kingdom or visit allies. He'd met interesting people in the other courts and on the road. _Made friends._ He had been too young to realize that on the road he was seen as a potential bargaining chip for peace with Volsung. At home, he was the third son and the last choice of any courtier looking to rise the in rank by befriending or marrying a Prince.

He patted his horse after tightening the last belt and looked up to see Thace crossing the lawn, arms crossed demurely behind him.

"I'm not a child anymore. You don't need to see me off."

Thace's smile was gentle, "Perhaps I shall just miss my baby brother and it's more for my piece of mind than yours."

Kogane smiled, “I’ll be back before you know to miss me.”

“That’s already a lie, little brother,” Lotor’s voice was teasing as he came up from a different direction. “You know Thace will do nothing but worry until you’re safe on the castle grounds again.”

Kogane laughed, “You’ll both be too busy, but thank you for your care.”

“You don’t need to leave,” Thace wheedled. “Your place is here, in Volsung. This is your home, Brother.”

“I refuse to be one of those useless lay-about Princes,” He clapped a reassuring hand on Thace’s shoulder. “I need to find a purpose for myself, and I have not been able to find it in Volsung. Perhaps it awaits me elsewhere. I promise I will return before your coronation.”

“Be home soon,” Lotor jostled both of them in a rough hug. “He will drive me up the walls without you around to henpeck.”

“You can take a turn at it for a while,” Kogane laughed. “I will return, hopefully with something to add to the greatness of Volsung aside from a backup heir.”

“You are enough as you are,” Thace pulled out of the hug with a hangdog expression. “But if you must go searching for something more, go and come back as quickly as you may. Volsung will always welcome you home.”

“Thank you, Thace.” He smirked, “My King.”

“I’m no king yet.”

Lotor and Kogane exchanged a long-suffering look and laughed together.

“In all seriousness,” Lotor smiled gently. “Come home soon, you will be missed.”

“I haven’t even left yet!”

“And already we miss you!” Lotor laughed, “Have a safe journey, Little Brother.”

“Guard Volsung well,” Kogane swung up into the saddle. “I am trusting her, and my future King to your keeping.”

“You can trust me.”

“You can trust Volsung awaits your return already, Prince Kogane.” Thace assured, “Travel well.”

He clicked to his horse and rode out of the castle and onto the road. Something, some purpose. Something _MORE_ had to be out there for him. He only wished he knew where to start.

 

* * *

 

He visited a few of the kingdoms he had traveled to as a child. It was strange to meet old friends again so many years and so much experience later.

He’d visited Ulaz in Marmora, the second Prince of his own kingdom and a long-time friend of Volsung. Kogane personally delivered the invite to Thace’s upcoming coronation.

“I’m sure you’ll make it to the events? They’re planning a month of celebrations before Father takes the long vacation he’s been promising mother for years.”

“I will try my best, but my studies...”

“Ulaz,” Kogane chided even as he replaced a book on the shelf. “Your studies can spare you for a month or two. Thace can’t travel with the coronation coming up and who knows how long before things calm down enough after it for him to travel again.”

The tall and wiry prince set down his armload of books on a table with a long sigh. His voice was hesitant when he spoke, “That is true.”

“Then you’ll be there?”

“I am only the second son, Prince Kogane, surely it is more important that Crown Prince Kolivan is the one to…”

Kogane shut down that line of reasoning with a glare.

Thace looked away, taking off his glasses to rub at the lenses, “I…”

“Prince Kolivan will be there, because our kingdoms are allies,” Kogane jumped down from the ladder with a loud thump that made Ulaz glare at him. “Thace will want to see you there because you are his friend.” He saw Ulaz’s jaw working up another excuse before it passed his lips, “In a way that his brothers cannot serve him. Are you quarreling?”

That forced a flush to the elder prince’s cheeks, “No!”

“Then go. Thace will be glad to see your face.”

“I will think on it.”

He stayed in Marmora for several days longer. He didn’t share Ulaz’s passion for medicine, but the books on stars and history fascinated him. He spent days in the royal library studying and chatting with the scholars that traversed the musty tomes.

Between his studies and dinners with the royal family, he needled Ulaz. He knew Kolivan would come to Thace’s coronation. He also knew that Ulaz was reticent to travel under the best of circumstances, and a month-long celebration was not to his interests. Most of all, he knew Thace longed to see his friend at the event more than any other ally that could be named.

 

* * *

 

“You’re drooling on my table, Prince Kogane.”

Kogane startled, jerking awake at the rich oak table in one of the reading rooms. Ulaz swept the book that had been his pillow away, dabbing at the pages with a silk handkerchief irritably.

“I didn’t drool on it,” He muttered defensively.

“A close thing, I assure you.”

Kogane sighed, but stretched in his seat, “So…”

“I will attend the coronation.”

He blinked, he hadn’t planned to go straight to that subject today, but this was the answer he’d been seeking, “Wonderful! I will send word to Thace immediately, he will--”

“So, what will you do now?”

Kogane blinked, “What?”

“I know you have been waiting for my confirmation these past days, Kogane.” Ulaz placed the book back on the table, “Your heart is clearly not in your studies here, although you are certainly welcome to follow this path if there is something you are passionate for. My librarians can help you source books if that is the issue.”

“I,” He hesitated. “No. The books are excellent. Perhaps it is something lacking in me that I cannot apply myself here.”

“My opinion, if you don’t mind my speaking plainly?”

“Please.”

“I am a scholar, to my very bones. I could give up all my titles to be a librarian here and never regret a moment save for the unease it would cause my brother. I have little need for the things that exist outside these walls.” Kogane nodded, “You are an intelligent man, but you are no scholar. You crave motion and action. The walls here that comfort me, confine you. It is not what you are meant for.”

Kogane sagged back in his seat with a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry, I have said too much.”

“No. You’re right. I just do not know what I am searching for. It’s tiring.”

“Perhaps I can advise then, in your brother’s place. I’ve noticed your subjects tend towards stars and historical curiosities.” He gestured for Ulaz to continue his train of thought, “Not all studies need happen within stone walls. I read and study medicines. But the stars are in the sky and history is out in the world: buried in forests, beneath waves, and hidden by dirt. I read and experiment for my studies. Perhaps yours would be better served by going out in search of truths rather than trying to piece together truths from others’ experiences.”

Kogane stared at Ulaz with wide eyes. He’d never thought of adventuring as studies, but Ulaz made a good point. Someone had to gather all the information compiled in these books, and perhaps he would be better suited to being that someone rather than studying the results.

Ulaz arched a pale eyebrow at him.

“Thank you, Prince. Perhaps I will be better served pursuing that path.”

 

* * *

 

He rode through a decimated countryside he couldn’t name. He was certain he had visited here at some point in his youth, but that had been ages ago and before the dragon.

_THE DRAGON._

He could still hardly believe there was an actual dragon terrorizing what had once been a prospering kingdom.

Well, he was looking for purpose out here in his travels. Perhaps he could try his hand at being a hero.

It would certainly be something new.


	3. The Hidden Prince

\- Shiro/Takashi -

Shiro carefully creaked the door to the cottage open, trying not to make any noise. He succeeded, until sunlight arced across his face and apparently one of his little friends caught sight of him. Cheerful birdsong erupted from a nearby tree, and Hunk’s head appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

Shiro’s hand tightened on the doorknob reflexively, and he released a sigh, “Out.”

“Shiro.”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere. No one knows I’m out here, and I’m always careful. Surely there’s no harm in me going for a walk.”

“It’s your birthday soon.”

“Does that have something to do with all of this?”

Hunk looked away, eyes wandering anywhere but Shiro’s face. He’d think the Fae was about to lie, except he knew they were incapable of telling a direct lie. “I don’t want you getting lost and spending your birthday out freezing in the woods somewhere.”

He felt his ears heat up in embarrassment, “That only happened once.”

“It’s easy to lose your way in a forest.” Pidge spoke up as they carried a stack of books in through another doorway. “All that means is it’s likely to happen again.”

Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “It happened once, and in part because I’d never been off the castle grounds before. I’ve learned a great deal since then. Since it’s my birthday soon, that’s all the more reason to give me a little leeway.”

“You have studies you could be doing,” Pidge groused.

“I spent all of yesterday studying.”

“You could help me in the kitchen,” Hunk offered.

Shiro shot him a pleading look.

“None of us want that, Love,” Lance answered cheerfully as he came down the stairs, draped in a robe the color of the sea. “Shiro’s more of a disaster in the kitchen than I am, and that’s saying something. What are you two trying to keep our darling princeling from?”

Both Fae shot Lance a glare full of unspoken arguments, but Shiro got a word in first, “A walk. In the forest. Away from people and Fae.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “Whatever for?”

This was his best chance. “I thought I could gather some fruits and herbs. It would be helpful, and I could use the exercise.”

Lance’s eyes lit up, “Kola and nettle?”

“If I can find any.”

Lance turned on Hunk, “You know I need more materials for my beauty regimen. What harm can there be?”

“It is nearly Shiro’s birthday,” Pidge’s voice was a warning.

“It isn’t yet, and he’s only going to be out for a few hours, not days.” Lance bounced the rest of the way down the stairs, wrapping himself around Hunk, “And we could all use a little breathing room in this tiny place. Let him get out and about for a bit.”

Pidge grumbled something in a language Shiro didn’t know, but Lance turned all his charm on Hunk. “A little privacy would be nice, and he’s not going to get into any trouble here and now.”

Hunk gave a long-suffering sigh, “Fine. Fine! But bring back things for cooking too, not just Lance’s silly beauty things.”

“I’ll be back before dark,” He called cheerfully, bolting out the door before they could re-think the decision.

He made sure he was well away from the cottage’s clearing before he released the breath he’d been holding. He liked the Faerie Nobles well enough, but he needed room to breathe without Fae magic dusting the very air. It had been strange enough that his parents had kept him confined to castle grounds while royals and human nobles (many younger than he was!) from far lands were free to travel to visit him. Now he had been sent away to live in a secluded cottage with three of the Faerie Nobles, far less room to roam about than the castle had provided, and no visitors at all. No one would tell him why or for how long this was to last.

He wanted to live up to his parents’ expectations. He wanted to serve his country as they did. But more than anything he wanted to explore the world before he was stuck ruling a kingdom. He wanted to see the far-off lands his friends had told him of. The inside of a cottage and stuck in the depths of an ancient forest, however lovely, wasn’t what he wanted. He couldn’t even see the stars at night through the thick canopy, and he missed them.

He loved the stars. When he couldn’t leave the walled grounds of Agnar castle, he’d been able to look up and study the stars that stretched out endlessly overhead. His friends had brought him books and the second prince of Marmora had even given him detailed star charts from his own archives. He’d loved them. He could look up at the sky and imagine he was on the road with the people he’d come to envy, knowing exactly which stars should be overhead if he had been able to travel to their lands. To the sea. The mountains. He wanted to see the mountains. See how high he could reach. See how close to the stars and the infinite space they traversed he could come. He’d been called romantic when he talked about the stars, and his closest friends had promised when they looked at the stars over their lands, they would say a prayer that one day he could come see them in person.

He wondered what his parents had told his friends about his disappearance.

He didn’t understand why he’d been sent here, and he was lonely.

Lonely except for his few friends, which he hadn’t told the Faerie Nobles of, worried even this little was forbidden. When he had moved to the cottage, one of the first things Pidge had insisted upon was that he drink a draft of Dragon’s Blood, which gave him the ability to understand the speech of animals as well as helping him understand and learn new languages. He still hadn’t mastered the Fae language that Pidge seemed to only use when deeply annoyed, but he was picking up other things. And once he had adjusted to hearing the endless litany of nonsense chatter from the animals he had found a surprising number of the animals here were uncannily intelligent. Not on the level of Humans or Fae, but a few were clever enough to hold conversation with and make friends of, and he did so eagerly.

Walking through the forest, which he was far more familiar with than this Fae babysitters seemed to have caught onto yet, he went to visit the small spring where a Vixen and her kits laired. She seemed to be away, but the kits came out to greet him eagerly, despite the fact he was human and his presence should have frightened them.

“Big man! Big man!” They chirruped enthusiastically, “Have you brought us good things to eat?”

“Not today little ones,” He knelt down carefully, smiling as the russet fluff balls crowded him, tripping over each other and playing with the lose strings of his boots. “Where is your Mother?”

The response was small yipping barks that could be mistaken for laughter and the kits being distracted by a large beetle that alighted nearby. He had met the fox family nearly a month ago when he had found the mother scrabbling desperately at a fallen tree. She had made her den there, and when a storm had come through it had felled a tree, trapping the kits inside and the mother outside. It had been over an hour of careful chopping and whispering softly to the Vixen before he had opened the way to the kits. Later he had helped her to find this new, safer lair by the spring.

It wasn’t long though before the mother fox came out of the nearby brush, carrying a rabbit carcass. He waited for her to usher the kits back into the den. When she had done so, she came back, ears perked inquisitively as she approached him where he knelt at the spring, filling a water skin.

“Hello Little Mother,” He spoke softly, knowing that for all they could understand each other, she was still a wild animal. “Has anything interesting happened?”

“A bear moved in the old cave in the direction the sun sets,” The fox provided cautiously. “Humans traveling the old road that passes the river often. Be careful, Big Man.”

The ‘road’ was nothing a human being would call a road. It was a game trail he’d discovered his first time out wandering this forest. This deep in a very old forest inhabited by Fae, the fox’s ‘often’ probably meant that she’d seen two people, maybe three in the space of a month, not that it was being regularly used. Even if he ranged as far as the game trail, chances were there would be on one there to find, and no sign of a human presence in the last fortnight.

Still…

It was the best chance of seeing another human he’d had in at least a year. If he met anyone, and he almost certainly wouldn’t, they didn’t need to know who he was. Anyone who would be so far out in the wilderness wouldn’t know the prince of Agnar on sight, and he was so starved for human contact. He liked the Fae Nobles, but they just weren’t… human. And he was.

If he went near the river, there would probably be some of the kola herbs Lance wanted, and he would certainly be able to find cress and mint for Hunk. He’d be doing what he told them he had gone out for, and it wasn’t as if he had said how close he would wander, only promised not to get lost.

He raised his eyes to the tree line, knowing he wouldn’t find anyone there and yet…

What harm could it do to go look?

He was on his feet again, bidding the vixen farewell, and stepping softly through the forest that had become his new home, hemmed in by green stands of trees instead of stone walls and flowers where there had once been iron bars. A beautiful cage to be sure, but still another cage.

And if he met someone there, in the depths of the forest, what harm could it be to talk? Just a little?

He began humming softly to himself as he walked.


	4. The Weald

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Weald** \- ( _noun_ ) originating from Old English 1. a heavily wooded area : forest 2 : a wild or uncultivated usually upland region

\- Keith/Kogane -

Kogane pulled leaves out of his hair as he sat up. He hadn’t expected the attempt at heroics to be easy or comfortable, but he hadn’t exactly expected the more mundane difficulties of it either. He liked to think he wasn’t a pampered pet of a prince, but he was starting to wonder if maybe he was closer to being one than he’d ever realized.

He hadn’t thought about how, with the local royal family deposed or dead, there was no reason for the common folk of the kingdom to trust the seal of his house would honor debts for him. When there was no king, no army, and no certainty with a dragon terrorizing the populous, an IOU, no matter who it came from, was worth less than an iron penny. Prices for everything were increased due to the dragon putting a strain on everything from hunting to farming. He had a heavy purse, but he had to spend it smartly, so taverns and inns were a luxury.

He’d been taught how to set up his own tents, of course, but he hadn’t realized quite how used he was to travelling with an army or a full retinue of staff. That meant he hadn’t set up his own tent nor cooked his own meals in years. He was out of practice at both, and the tent that fit on his pack mule was nowhere near as comfortable as the one that was carried in a wagon when he was out as an ambassador for his kingdom. He could cook, but it was plain stuff, edible but not tasty and he was quickly learning his herbology to forage additions to his meals or herbs to flavor them was… lacking. He wasn’t incompetent by any means, but he was uncomfortable, beset by a thousand small inconveniences he hadn’t considered until he was in the midst of them.

At least he could hunt well.

Right now, he was waking up to learn he hadn’t quite secured the tent properly last night and he had a small collection of leaves to clean out of the tent before he could pack and get moving. The news he’d been able to gather at the last tavern before he’d entered this monstrous forest indicated that it would be a week’s travel before he found civilization again as he journeyed towards the dragon’s lair, and they had all warned him against traveling too deep into the ancient wood they simply called The Weald. A shame, since the wood should have been a shortcut to his destination, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to ignore their advice. This was their kingdom, and they knew it best.

He had gone perhaps a bit deeper in than he’d meant to, but there was a game trail to follow and a river in easy distance. It should be safe enough, and it had made a good camping spot.

He finally had the gear repacked and was filling his water skins at the river when he heard a strange noise. It sounded almost… Musical. But there shouldn’t be anyone else in these woods right now. The locals had warned him Fae inhabited the Weald, and he’d heard more than a few tales of ones that sang to lead men to their deaths, usually associated with water. This could be one of the river dwelling ones, a Rusalka. He’d never seen one of the Fae himself, and he had always wondered what they were like in reality. The stories varied so much. It could be dangerous. Of course, if it was a local out hunting the game trail, they might be able to give him more information about the area or the dragon he was seeking. Knowledge was power and forewarned was forearmed, Thace had always told him.

Either way, he was curious. He just needed to be cautious.

He tied his mount and pack mule in place, within easy reach of grass and water, then began his careful way along the river, closing in on the source of the sound.

Not sound.

Singing.

It was definitely singing.

And it wasn’t the haunting melody nor the high feminine voice he had expected.

He had to admit part of him was disappointed this must be a local man rather than a Fae, but were they a woodsman, hunter, poacher, or some sort of bandit? He shouldn’t let his guard down.

He came close enough to peer through the branches and his heart stopped. Perhaps he had been wrong to assume a masculine voice meant the singer couldn’t be Fae.

There was a man by the river, dressed in fine but plain clothes, singing softly some song Kogane didn’t recognize as he moved slowly through some sort of complex dance. He was beautiful. More beautiful than any human Kogane had ever seen. But there was something familiar about the dance. Something that drew him in. The Fae’s magic perhaps?

He stood stock still, barely breathing, watching the man move slowly through graceful, almost familiar motions.

He knew he couldn’t be seen from behind the screen of trees and brush he’d be walking through. Fae or mortal, the man probably wouldn’t appreciate being spied on.

He should leave.

Or introduce himself, his brain supplied unhelpfully. Learn the impossibly beautiful man’s name.

Fast way to get himself killed if the man was Fae, especially if he was a Rusalka, here by the riverbank. He was certainly beautiful and graceful enough to be Fae.

Listen to yourself Kogane. You sound like a besotted goose girl, not an ambassador prince, and certainly not a hero.

Just then, the man made a motion he recognized, and suddenly the entire “dance” fell into place. He’d seen Kolivan do this, or rather, a variation of this. He called it a “kata”, a practice of stepping through in slow motion different martial arts moves to build control and finesse, train muscle memory. It was a tradition Kolivan had learned on a visit to the kingdom of Agnar. The series of motions the man was on now, Kogane had learned from Kolivan himself. He knew these.

He stepped out of the trees, into the tiny clearing by the river and started stepping through the kata opposite the man, mirroring his motions with a gentle smile that he hoped communicated peace. Storm colored eyes widened at his sudden appearance, but the man didn’t stop his movements, didn’t back away or hesitate as Kogane moved closer. Only the song stopped, which Kogane regretted a little although the faint blush high on the other’s cheekbones lessened the loss.

They were coming up on the end of the series of movements, and Kogane closed the distance further, moving out of the kata and into the counter motions Kolivan had demonstrated multiple times to show him the true purpose of the slow dance. His hands met the mysterious man’s in soft clashes, turning together, wrapping, twisting, until they came to the end of the set that Kogane knew and rather than moving into a new one, the man stopped, grey eyes staring into his curiously.

Kogane felt sure his heart was beating hard enough to be audible standing this close, but he turned his wrists one last time, capturing unfamiliar hands in his own, “Who are you?”

Fingers flexed in is hold, almost seeming nervous, but a slow smile spread across the wondering face, “Shiro.”

He couldn’t help the smile that broke out in response, “I’m Keith.”

It wasn’t his proper name, a childhood nickname he’d outgrown as he’d grown into his duties as prince, but close enough to the truth to both not be a lie and not give his true name in case the man really were Fae. But that nervous twitch of fingers, the knowledge of the kata, surely he wasn’t Fae, at least not completely.

“Hello Keith,” There was warmth in that voice that sent a shiver down his spine.

“I didn’t expect to meet anyone out here, much less someone who knows those dances.”

“I didn’t really expect to find anyone here either. You’re very deep in the forest.”

“I find myself very glad I’m here, Shiro.”

He laughed and pulled his hands out of Kogane’s, leaving him feeling unexpectedly cold and bereft, “What brings you out here? Are you lost?”

“Not lost. I’m traveling to the village on the other side of the Weald.”

“Ah.”

“What brings you here?”

“Just walking. Gathering a few herbs.”

He couldn’t exactly suggest it was dangerous to be out here alone, Shiro was taller than him and clearly educated in fighting, but he was searching desperately for an excuse to spend more time with him. To get to know him. “I know little of the plants here about, perhaps you could show me which are safe to eat?”

“Certainly, come here.”

Shiro’s smile was easy, and he followed without question to the water’s edge where he began carefully separating plants and pointing out the differences, telling which were good for healing, for eating, for beauty (with an attractive blush), and which were dangerous. Kogane leaned in closer with each new bit of information, so close that their shoulders brushed at every motion. Shiro didn’t complain, and he listened attentively to learn and for the pleasantness of Shiro’s deep voice, interrupting only to ask questions.

They must look like children, on their hands and knees at a riverbank, carefully poring over weeds as if it were the stacks of the Marmoran library.

Kogane looked up, blinking in surprise at the sunlight filtering in through the trees, he’d lost all track of time.

“It’s nearly midday.”

“I’ve kept you,” Shiro’s voice was apologetic. “I’m sorry, I—"

“You’ve likely saved my life twice over in the future,” Kogane interrupted him. “I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and patience.”

Shiro sounded disappointed at the thought, “But you must go.”

Kogane’s heart soared in response to Shiro’s hesitation to send him off, “I must see to my horse. I have no other schedule to meet but my own.”

“That must be a wonderful gift.”

Kogane hesitated now that he was on his feet. He’d been thinking to get his mounts and come straight back here, to spend more time with Shiro. Now it crossed his mind that the moment he stepped out of the clearing, he might never see him again, “Am I keeping you?”

Shiro shook his head, “I have some freedom today, but my days are rarely so unscheduled. Would you stay for lunch? I would like the company, and your horse should be fine here.”

Kogane offered him a hand to help him to his feet, and smiled when Shiro accepted it, “I can think of no better use for my time.”

The dragon had been here for months. Every bit of news suggested it had settled into a spot and was staying there for now, full and happy on its hoard. He could afford to dally a little while.

When he returned, he found Shiro ready with a lunch of foraged foods and fresh made bread and cheese. Plain food, but delicious, and far better than anything he’d made for himself in the last fortnight.

They sat together, talking about the weather and Kogane unthinkingly trailed off to talk about some of what he’d learned of the stars in his recent studies. The subject still excited him, and he was sure there was so much more to learn. When he’d paused, a bit embarrassed by his sudden passion, Shiro took up the thread without a pause, every bit as fervent as he was. They talked excitedly together for hours. Kogane didn’t dare mention where he’d studied or why he’d had access to such information. Living in the middle of nowhere like this, he doubted Shiro thought well of royals like himself, and he didn’t want to see those sparkling eyes look at him with disgust.

It was only as the color of the light filtering through the trees began to turn shades of orange that he realized how long they’d been talking without noticing. He didn’t want to stop.

Shiro noticed before long though, and he clambered to his feet, “I have to get back.”

“To the village?” At the slight upturn of Shiro’s brows, he quickly offered up an option, “Do you know the way from here? Perhaps we could travel there together.”

“I don’t go to the village.”

The words were out of Kogane’s mouth before he’d considered all the potential consequences of their meaning, “When can I see you again?”

Was Shiro a Fae after all? Did he care if he was? He knew he was suddenly loathe to go anywhere that was away from him.

Shiro looked distraught now, “I don’t know.”

“I’ll wait here for you. Tomorrow.”

“Keith…”

“Say you’ll come.”

He’d gone out into the world to find a purpose, something he could be passionate about. Perhaps Shiro was it.

“I’ll try.”

If this was some Fae trap, he was a happy captive of it.


	5. Drawn

 

\- Shiro/Takashi -

Shiro bit back the smile as he returned to the cottage just before the sun finished setting. He had been relishing the idea of a day to himself when he’d left this morning. He’d been skeptical when he’d followed the Vixen’s warning to the game trail that he’d actually run into anyone.

He had hoped, but he hadn’t expected.

Then Keith had appeared out of nowhere.  He’d been a little clumsy in the forms, but he’d known the katas. He’d spent the whole day keeping Shiro company, even though he must have more interesting things to do than waste a day in a forest glade. When he’d started talking about the stars... Shiro hadn’t thought he’d have anyone to discuss the stars with until he returned to Agnar.

He felt his cheeks heat up again as he recalled the way Keith’s deep purple eyes had lit up while they talked. The man was beautiful, and interesting, and shared his passions.

He passed Hunk the basket of herbs and made a quick excuse to go to his room, saying he needed to wash up. He didn’t miss the surprised look on the Fae’s face at his unusual shortness that bordered on being rude, nor Lance’s raised eyebrow and sly glance.

Lance couldn’t know he’d met someone in the forest. People didn’t come so far in, and he was certain it had something to do with the magic of the Faerie Nobles. Whatever had allowed Keith to come so close, they had no reason to suspect it happening. It wasn’t as though he’d broken any rule. He’d stayed within the forest. He hadn’t revealed his identity nor where he was staying. They had never said he wasn’t allowed to talk to people.

He was washing his face with cold water as he recalled the look on Keith’s face when he’d asked him to come back tomorrow. Promised to wait for him. It was unlikely the Fae would let him roam the forest two days in a row, but maybe if he finished his studies early… Surely he could go out for a while.

Keith would probably move on before he could return to the glade. He had freedom, and more interesting places to be. He’d mentioned a village on the other side of the forest. Shiro hadn’t even known there were villages in easy reach. Probably only easy reach by horseback, not foot. He doubted Keith would wait all day just to see some stranger in the forest again, but what harm was there in trying to meet him? He’d looked like he was willing to wait all day to see him again. Even if it wasn’t true, the memory of Keith’s expression and the earnestness in his voice made Shiro’s heart clench.

He wanted to see Keith again.

He splashed more water on his face. He didn’t need the Faerie Nobles asking why he was red to his ears.

 

* * *

 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes?” Shiro looked up at Pidge uncertainly.

She huffed and took a seat imperiously atop a stack of books she’d just finished carrying into the room. He never knew where she seemed to just keep accumulating books from. She’d walk through a doorway and just suddenly have acquired more. “You’re distracted.”

He straightened up at that. He had very pointedly  ** _not_**  been letting himself get distracted. “I’m ahead in my studies for today, and I already finished my chores with Hunk.”

“Exactly. You busy yourself when something’s on your mind instead of addressing it. When you’re not distracted, you’re always staring out windows and daydreaming or fidgeting with something. You’re not this,” She waved a hand vaguely. “Focused? Motivated? I’m missing the Human word for it.”

“Impatient,” Lance supplied easily from the doorway, his lips curled into a knowing smirk, blue eyes dancing with ethereal light. “Where else have you to be, Little Prince?”

“I didn’t say I need to be anywhere.”

“But you want to be somewhere else. Urgently. Even Hunk noticed you’re acting strange, and he is too trusting by half to pick up on little deceptions.”

“I was thinking I could take a walk in the afternoon.”

Lance’s voice was musical and teasing, “Two days in a row?”

“I thought I wasn’t a prisoner here.”

“You’re not,” Pidge answered quickly. “You do understand this is all for your safety?”

Shiro didn’t try to hide the disappointment in his voice or the slump of his shoulders, “I know.”

“Your parents proposed this.”

“I know.”

“But so long as he isn’t leaving the forest,” Lance bounced on his toes, stepping cheerfully into the room. “I can’t see how there’s much harm. He’s a growing Human boy, Pidge, I’m sure he just wants to stretch his legs. I don’t think they’re built for being cooped up like this.”

Pidge shot Lance a glare and grumbled something in the Fae tongue.

There was a brief exchange, which left Pidge more sullen as she hopped off her stack of books to go further into the library, disappearing among the piles as she turned a corner. (The Fae had learned of how humans organized their libraries and apparently taken the term ‘stacks’ quite literally.)

Lance turned cheerfully on Shiro, smiling brightly. “A reprieve! You haven’t been taking lessons with me as of late, and I think we can manage doing so outside today.”

Shiro blinked. This wasn’t what he had wanted. He wanted to be alone, to go see Keith again, if he was still there. He was almost certain the Faerie Nobles would outright forbid him if they knew about Keith. But outside was better than inside, even if he couldn’t go where he really wanted to.

Take the small victory, he chided himself. You knew it was unlikely you could go wandering two days in a row. It was past midday. Keith had surely moved on by now.

He followed Lance out into the sunlight, walking easily between the trees until they were well out of sight of the cottage. They came to a small tiered garden of flowers and herbs that Lance tended, and the Fae began collecting a few with purpose, “Name these?”

Shiro came closer, looking over what Lance was gathering, “Bay Leaf. Amaranth. Wormwood. Butterbur. Adder’s Tongue. Jasmine.”

Lance picked another, holding it up for Shiro’s inspection, “This?”

“St. John’s Wort.” Shiro narrowed his eyes at him, “You’re going easy on me.”

Lance ignored the comment, “What do all of these have in common?”

“They’re all used in divination, except the Amaranth.”

“Good.” Lance shot him a sly smile, “What’s Amaranth for?”

“Summoning spirits. Healing broken hearts.” He furrowed his brows, “Invisibility in Fae spells, but Humans haven’t—“

“Excellent. I am an excellent teacher,” Lance clapped once, cutting him off. “I am also terribly busy and will have trouble concentrating with you underfoot. Go find some way to entertain yourself.”

Shiro blinked slowly, hardly believing what Lance was saying.

Lance waved the Amaranth meaningfully at him, “Shoo shoo! Be back here before the sun sets.”

“Lance, you—“

“I’m not blind, Takashi.” His expression now was serious, “I don’t know what you’re so eager to get back to, but be careful. And be sure of what you’re meeting in this forest. We aren’t the only Fae here, and some might do you a petty mischief given the chance.”

Shiro nodded, turning to run towards the glade where he’d left Keith yesterday.

 

* * *

 

\- Keith/Kogane -

Kogane had oiled and sharpened his sword, **_twice_** , washed everything he had that could be, unpacked and repacked all of his luggage, but still no sign of Shiro. If it weren’t for the tracks by the riverbank, he might have started to wonder if he’d only dreamed the man.

There was the sound of rustling leaves then snapping branches, and Shiro rushed into the clearing, breathing hard, face flushed, hair askew, grey eyes darting back and forth until they met Kogane’s. He froze there, on the edge of the clearing, but Kogane took the initiative from there.

He’d come. Come with urgency and as soon as he could it seemed.

Kogane felt the smile break across his face as he got to his feet and crossed the clearing to sweep the other man into an embrace. It was perhaps a bit forward, but...

 

* * *

 

\- Shiro/Takashi -

Once Shiro had started running towards the glade, he couldn’t stop himself.

Keith had already left.

He must have. There was no way he’d spend most of the day waiting for some stranger he’d only met once by chance. He surely had better things to do.

But maybe… Maybe he hadn’t left yet. Maybe there had been things for him to do, to keep busy until now. Not really waiting for Shiro, but not too inconvenienced to spend the day in one place either. Over half a day. Not even a full day.

He might be leaving soon though.

His feet tread heavier than normal, making too much noise in his haste.

He’d surely missed him.

He crossed the edge of the clearing, eyes searching before he even fully registered what was there, and Keith was pushing a sword out of his lap, on his feet and crossing the clearing in the same moment that Shiro’s heart leapt into his throat.

Suddenly, there were arms around him and he was briefly lifted off his feet and swung around once by the smaller man. He must have been so much stronger than he looked.

Keith released him with a laugh and a blush, purple eyes dancing merrily, “I was afraid you wouldn’t come!”

“I was too,” Shiro admitted, softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m glad you did,” Keith’s voice bled sincerity into every syllable.


	6. Oath

\- Keith/Kogane -

Kogane blushed as he released Shiro. He didn’t regret for a moment the embrace, but he hadn’t asked, and he couldn’t be certain Shiro was okay with the sudden contact. He wanted Shiro to be okay with it. With him.

He laughed, still joyful the other man had come, _running_ , to him, and his hands lingered only a breath of space away, “I was afraid you wouldn’t come!”

Shiro ducked his head slightly, cheeks still tinted from his run, “I was too.”

“I’m glad you did.”

It was Shiro’s turn to chuckle now, “I thought you might have moved on.”

“I promised to wait for you.” Kogane took his hand in his, “I am happy to wait, if it means seeing you.”

Shiro laughed again, and followed when Kogane led him to sit by his packs and sword. They fell easily into conversations continued from yesterday as Kogane pulled out the star charts Ulaz had given him before he left Marmora. He pointed out the small marks he made trying to identify new stars that weren’t recorded. Sharper eyesight than the average ran in his bloodline, and he suspected the person who had mad these charts couldn’t see the fainter stars that Kogane could make out and then confirm with an eyeglass.

Shiro was fascinated by the revelation of new stars that had yet to be discovered and recorded, and admitted to his own dream of travelling deep and high in the mountains, wondering if they could be seen more clearly way from city lights and closer to the sky.

“It seems likely,” Kogane pulled out a map contemplatively, spreading it between them, fingers tracing over the lines. “I can see the stars better when there’s no lights nor campfires, if we traveled far enough into the mountains...”

Shiro’s voice seemed genuinely surprised when he interrupted the thought, “We?”

“This was your brilliant idea, I thought you wanted to go see the stars from the mountains?”

“I do, but,” Shiro’s voice faltered.

“But what?”

“I can’t.”

Shiro looked up towards the sky, and Kogane followed his gaze, seeing nothing but the leaves of outstretched branches filtering sunlight down into the space between the ancient growths. Something about how Shiro spoke made it seem like he never left this forest. Never escaped the tall sentinels of old growth trees. How long had it been since Shiro had seen the stars? Any of them? When he looked at Shiro’s upturned face, he saw sorrow and longing, and he desperately wanted to change the subject. To distract him and make him smile again.

“Spar with me.”

“What?”

“You know katas, I’ve seen a few of them before.” Kogane got to his feet, “But it’s not how I was trained. I’ve been too idle today, and I could use more practice, if you’re willing.”

Shiro smiled, a little wanly, but still a smile, and got to his feet, “I’m bigger than you.”

Kogane shot him a playful smile, “And I’m a lot stronger than I look.”

They stepped a little ways off from Kogane’s packs, and took starting stances. It was true, he hadn’t sparred since he’d left Marmora and needed the practice, but distracting Shiro from melancholy was enough reason even without that.

They moved forward, hands and feet clashing in a dance that could have been deadly, but was friendly. Playful. Dodged kicks. Light clashes of grappling hands. Shiro started to get the grip for a hold on him, and he twisted out without much effort. There was a spin apart, and they were circling each other, looking for openings.

He didn’t know why Shiro didn’t go to the village. Why he didn’t seem to leave the forest or where he went within it. Was Shiro truly a Fae, and unable to leave the boundaries of the Weald? It seemed increasingly unlikely. Was he a human with a strict family or religious tradition that kept him here? What if he was a servant, normally too busy with chores to do anything else? He’d said he rarely had the freedom even to be out walking as he had been yesterday. What if he was a prisoner or slave?

The stray thought hit him like a blow to the head and he misjudged his next step, Shiro capturing his arms in a hold, and forcing him to his knees suddenly.

Shiro was strong in his own right. He’d clearly been trained how to fight. It couldn’t be true. But he was also gentle. Hesitant. He clearly wanted to see more of the world, but for some reason could not. No man was invincible. What if?

He twisted in the hold, breaking out of it more with sheer strength than finesse. He hadn’t been exaggerating about his strength. He was still small compared to his elder brothers, but the uncanny strength of their bloodline, supposedly descended from the legendary Galra, had bred true. He caught Shiro’s grey eyes going wide in surprise as he twisted around, capturing Shiro in a hold of his own, and pulling him down to the ground underneath him. They were tangled closely together, and Kogane leaned over his chest, breathing labored with the effort and his racing thoughts.

What if. What If. WHAT IF.

He was looking down at Shiro’s surprised face when the expression shifted, shock melting away to a slow, delighted smile, “You weren’t kidding about being strong.”

“Shiro, I— You—” He pulled his hands away, brain stuttering momentarily with questions he wasn’t sure how to articulate artfully. He needed to know.

Shiro’s hand slowly moved to capture his retreating one, “What is it?”

He couldn’t ask. They’d only just met.

“I’m so glad I met you.”

“Keith,” Shiro pulled him down impulsively, pressing a brief chaste kiss to his lips, then letting go quickly, as if he expected to be rebuffed.

Grey eyes were sliding away from him almost immediately, and he closed the space again, returning the kiss, fingers going to Shiro’s hair.

Shiro’s hands moved to wrap around him, hold him closer, and all he could think for a few blissful moments was that this was exactly what he’d been searching for. This feeling. This person.

They parted again, and this time Shiro didn’t look away, he exhaled the name like a prayer, lips twisting into a smile again, “Keith.”

He could get very used to being called that name again after all these years. So long as it was Shiro calling him.

“Come to the mountains with me,” Kogane breathed next to his ear. “We should chase the stars together.”

“I can’t do that,” Shiro sounded regretful. “I can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“I have obligations here. My duty requires me to stay.”

“Duty to what?” Kogane sat up, getting off of Shiro, and the man followed him so they were sitting side by side in the grass. He pulled one of Shiro’s hands into his own, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. “Shiro, whatever it is, let me help you. I **_can_** help.”

“Keith,” Shiro hesitated over the answer. “I can’t explain. I’ve given my word. If I were free to follow wherever my heart lead, I would go with you, but I cannot. I can’t just act, no matter how much I might wish to.”

“If you owe someone a debt, or need help to leave, or need something done, or assurance someone will be taken care of,” His words were slow trying to capture all the possibilities without saying his worst fears aloud. “Whatever it is, I will help you.”

“It is all of those things, and none of them. No one can do it for me. It has to be me.”

“Is there someone?” He paused, not wanting to stutter over the words, “Are you already promised to them?”

Shiro pulled their entwined hands up, turning them so he could kiss the back of Kogane’s hand, “No.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know.” Shiro shook his head gently, face looking up to the obscured sky again, “You must have your own obligations, Keith. You were headed to a village on the other side of the forest when we met. You shouldn’t let me keep you from them.”

The dragon. He’d promised to try to defeat the dragon. He’d given his word as a Prince of Volsung.

He was afraid that the moment he left this place, he’d never see Shiro again.

“I will go and return here.”

“Keith.”

He was a prince, dammit. Third born, but still a prince. If anyone could change things for Shiro, he should be able to.

“Shiro, I can help you. I have resources. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I refuse to give up unless you can honestly tell me you don’t want me.”

“You should go to your obligations,” Shiro’s expression was defeated. “You’ll forget me soon enough.”

“I will **_never_** forget you.”

“We shouldn’t dwell on this. Tell me about the road ahead of you. Tell me about the places I can’t go.”

He told him. About his search for a purpose. About how he’d heard of the dragon and the kingdom without a royal family to defend it. He told him of promising to fight the dragon, and how he knew it had laired just a bit further beyond the village on the other side of the Weald. He didn’t mention who he was.

Shiro went pale.

“You’re going to fight a dragon.”

“Yes.”

His voice was strained, “What if it kills you?”

“It won’t.”

He didn’t raise his voice, but there was a rawness to it that was worse than if he’d yelled, “You can’t know that.”

“I’m coming back here to see you again. I don’t break my promises.” When Shiro started to look away he put his free hand to his cheek and pulled him back to meet his eyes. “I **_will_** see you again.”

“You’re free to do whatever you want,” Shiro’s voice was pleading. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to help people, and the people of this kingdom need someone to stand up for them. I gave my word that I would try.”

“I want you to live. I want you to follow the stars into the mountains.”

“I want to do that **_with you_** ,” Kogane replied earnestly.

“I told you, I can’t.”

“And I told you, I’m not giving up.” He smiled, “The sun is going down. Do you have to leave again?”

Shiro looked up, his eyebrows furrowing with frustration, the light was just starting to turn orange, “Yes.”

“Then go.” Kogane’s eyes crinkled when Shiro turned back to him, “I will go on the morrow and return as quickly as I may.”

Shiro’s lips were on his again, something desperate in the motion, and when they parted, he stood up, looking heartbroken, “Promise me you’ll live.”

“I promise.”


	7. Parting

\- Shiro/Takashi -

Shiro was having difficulty keeping his composure when he returned to Lance and his garden. The Faerie Noble didn’t push though. Didn’t ask. And for that, he was grateful. He wasn’t sure he could contain himself if he spoke.

There was a dragon beyond the forest. A dragon that had decimated half a kingdom. It wasn’t Agnar, he knew they’d taken him far enough from his home and the people he might know to remove the temptation to try to leave. Outside of his kingdom in a place where he had no resources and no potential allies meant trying to strike out on his own and hoping he’d find his way safely in a world he’d never seen was a fool’s errand. That it wasn’t his kingdom, his people, decimated in his absence was a small and cold comfort.

Keith was going to fight it. What should have been the responsibility of the ruler of this kingdom, probably already dead, had somehow found it’s way to Keith’s shoulders. A bright clever flame of a person, kind and giving, handsome, stubborn... It was little wonder he’d fallen for him almost immediately. His feelings for Keith going anywhere beyond a brief tryst were just as impossible as leaving the forest before the Faerie Nobles and his parents deemed it time. Oh certainly, he could do it, but it would end badly, and for more people than just him. So, he wouldn’t.

Now the man was almost certainly going to die fighting the dragon, and he’d never even have the chance to see him again. To tell him who he was or why he couldn’t chase the stars with him. If he was going to die anyways, he should have just explained. Maybe he could have convinced him to stay out of it, to leave it to the allies of the missing royal family. Leave it to people who could field an army and mages to take down a dragon. The people whose duty it was to handle such disasters. If he could just have met with Keith one more time, he could have talked him into going on his way. Forgetting the dragon. Living.

He wished he wasn’t the only heir to Agnar, that he could have just gone with Keith. Disappeared into the mountains. Chase the stars. Live a simple life searching for purpose and love and simple happinesses. But he was not, and therefore could not, and there was no use in dwelling on what he couldn’t have. What he needed was a way to save Keith from his own heroic kindness.

He needed to talk to him again. To explain. To talk him out of this deadly quest. He was leaving in the morning, but if he went to him tonight, under the cover of darkness?

He didn’t like the idea of breaking his word to the Faerie Nobles who were almost like family to him, but this was Keith’s life. If there was even a chance he could convinced him not to go. If he could save him…

* * *

 

\- Lance -

It had been easier than he’d expected to get Shiro to agree to take supper in his room and retire early. He’d expected the prince to question why he’d permitted him to run off to meet with someone they didn’t know. Or to question what Lance had been up to that he didn’t want the boy underfoot. To ask what he should tell the others if they questioned what he had studied upon their return to the cottage.

Takashi was an uncannily clever child that way, for a Human.

But no. The prince had returned more brooding than he had been before he’d left. He’d have called it sulking, if Shiro had ever in his life been predisposed to such behavior. So when he’d proposed Shiro escape the company of the household for the rest of the evening, the boy had jumped upon the opportunity without question.

Although, it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand why their normally clever Princeling was distracted.

The three Faerie Nobles sat around the kitchen table, an untouched meal spread between them.

“Well?” Pidge leaned forward on the table, slipping easily into the Fae language, on the unlikely chance Shiro might overhear them. “What did you find out?”

Lance took the hint, and answered in their language, “Our little human Princeling is in love.”

Pidge snorted, “He can’t be in love. He hasn’t had time to fall in love with anyone.”

Lance and Hunk exchanged looks, and it was Hunk that answered, “Love doesn’t take long to blossom, Pidge. It may not be deep love, yet, but he can certainly have the beginnings of something just as true. Besides, we must consider, with all the blessings, curses, magic, and fate already piled up around the boy it’s likely the universe will pull a True Love match into the equation too.”

“How terribly romantic,” Lance added dreamily.

“Terrible is right.”

“Pidge,” Hunk chastised.

“This situation is already complex enough without adding True Love matches. They sound great in stories, but they complicate things, especially with royal families. The politics and corresponding fallout are a nightmare.”

“At least that part shouldn’t be a problem,” Lance waved at the air casually. “He’s a prince of Volsung, and the third born at that. Third child is good luck, as far as fate weaving goes. They’re already an ally of Agnar, and this could cement that, without mucking with the ascension lines for Volsung.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair, eyeing Lance suspiciously, “Too convenient.”

Lance chortled, “Destiny!”

“What’s going wrong then? If it’s all such a smooth match, why does the boy look like Damocles own sword hangs above his head?”

“Pidge is right,” Hunk sighed. “What else did you see when you were scrying? Takashi is far too clever a Human to not see how well they would fit, and he is not happy.”

“Well neither knows who the other is. They’re just both smitten.” Lance shrugged, “And the Volsung Prince intends to fight the dragon Fafnir. He told Takashi as much today.”

“Fafnir?!” Hunk coughed violently in his astonishment.

“Well it can’t be a True Love match if the boy’s going to die.” Pidge groused, “No wonder our Princeling is upset. He’s infatuated with someone who’s running off to get himself killed.”

Lance leaned over, rubbing Hunk’s back comfortingly, helping him through the coughing fit, “He’s not going to die. We’ll help him.”

“’We’?” Pidge groaned, “Do you recall that ‘we’ don’t want to draw attention to this place? If Haggar realizes the boy is here, we’re going to have a world of trouble to deal with.”

“We’re going to have a world of trouble if Takashi sneaks off trying to save his True Love all unsupervised,” Lance countered.

“He wouldn’t, he has too good a head on his shoulders,” Hunk admonished. “He knows not to tell anyone who he is or to leave the forest.”

“He’s a young man in love,” Lance countered. “And clever enough to think he can talk the Galran Scion out of it.”

“A true descendant of the Galra?”

“Yes,” Lance smirked easily. “If anyone is going to have the strength to put this Fafnir business to an end, a Galran Scion should be able to, and the feat will be a good recommendation towards earning the favor of the Agnar crown that he’ll need.”

“This is needlessly complicated,” Hunk complained.

“And about to get more so if we don’t act now,” Pidge sat up suddenly, looking towards the stairs to the second level. “Our Princeling is trying to sneak out.”

“I’m glad you got those wards set,” Lance jumped to his feet. “Time to interfere in some young lovers’ rendezvous. The path can’t be too smooth, or they’ll suspect our hand in it.”

Hunk sighed loudly, “Wouldn’t it be better if we just talked to him? Explain everything?”

“No,” Lance and Pidge said together.

Lance switched to the Human tongue, offering a hand to Hunk, “Come My Love, let’s head this off before our dear Shiro does or says something to put himself in harm’s way. We must keep our word to his parents.”

Hunk groaned before taking Lance’s hand, “Fine, but I am not climbing out of any windows.”


	8. Revelation

\- Shiro/Takashi -

He had just managed to edge over to the main trellis of the cottage, the one that would provide him a safe route by which to climb to the ground when a noise drew his attention back to the window. Lance waggled fingers at him in a playful greeting, a knowing smile on his lips. Hunk just looked disappointed, both arms resting on the sill as he peered down at the prince.

Lance’s voice was gentle and amused, “You’re a terrible liar, you know that right?”

Hunk’s tone made him feel like a wayward kitten instead of the heir to a throne, “What are you thinking Shiro? Get back in here.”

He furrowed his brow and looked away, fingers tightening their grip on the trellis, “No.”

“Shiro!”

“Why don’t you try talking to us before resorting to running off in the middle of the night?”

Shiro exhaled slowly through his nose, eyes focusing on the ground. Measuring. “I already made up my mind. I’m going with or without your permission. Why give you the chance to forbid me?”

“We might have understood.” Lance’s voice was cajoling, “We might be able to help.”

A shiver went up Shiro’s spine. Maybe. Maybe they could… And what would they do? Their priority was keeping him safe and hidden. Helping some stranger in the forest wouldn’t do that. Talking him out of fighting a dragon wouldn’t help their goal. Keith being dead and unable to let slip to anyone about meeting Shiro was actually to their advantage.

He didn’t think they’d harm Keith, but he didn’t believe they’d lift a finger to save him either.

He couldn’t bear the thought of Keith dying. That was why he was out here, clinging to a rose trellis, ready to go running into the night to break an oath.

He grit his teeth and calculated the distance. He could manage it. If he moved swiftly enough… He couldn’t give them time to respond. He leaned in closer to the wall, doing a few quick estimates in his head before pushing off, the toes of his boots and his hands making sure to send him clear of the roses and shrubs around the cottage. There was an outraged sound above him as he hit the ground, knees bending and immediately going into a roll to absorb and distribute the force of the landing.

He came to his feet, mind pointing out he’d be stained with grass and dirt now. What a sight he’d make when he reached Keith’s campsite, but surely Keith wouldn’t mind. Even if he did, Shiro had to see him one more time. To explain. To talk him out of fighting the dragon. Even if he never saw Keith again, so long as he lived, he was willing to do anything. Humiliate himself. Break his oaths.

He’d hit a little faster than he’d estimated, maybe a half a meter per second faster. It stung. He didn’t dare pause though. The Faerie Nobles didn’t want him to go. That was why they’d barged into his chamber. They’d somehow known he was leaving and intended to stop him. He couldn’t let them. He couldn’t let Keith die.

He took three running steps before the spell hit him. There was a brief sensation of light everywhere, cold and bright and crackling through every millimeter of his skin.

“Really,” Lance’s voice seemed to echo around him. “You’re so earnest, it’s painful to watch sometimes, Takashi.”

Then everything faded to black.

* * *

 

Shiro stood in the throne room of his childhood. Light streamed in through filigreed window panes drawing a rose garden across the floor with light and shadow in a way he’d never seen before. He looked up to the windows he’d known all his life and found them without the familiar iron bars. He couldn’t recall ever seeing a single window in the entire castle unbarred. It was an alien shift in the familiar hall.

“What is this?”

Shiro turned, looking around the empty room, the unoccupied thrones. Empty of people but decorated as if for a celebration. Banners and flowers were everywhere. Tables laden with food and drink lined one wall.

“What’s happening?”

“I think it’s time you know, Prince Takashi.” Hunk materialized beside him in a gentle shower of golden sparks. “The others disagree, but I believe you have a right to know and I think you need to know now, before you do something rash.”

“I need to go to Keith. I need to tell him,” Shiro shook his head fiercely. Hunk had no idea who Keith was, why he mattered. “A man may die if I do not go to him tonight. Please!”

“I cannot permit you,” Hunk looked truly sorry at that.

“Then do something! Save him! I can’t,” Shiro paused, uncertain. He knew it was bad to promise favors, to make deals with the Fae, even ones you were on good terms with, but he was desperate. “I don’t know that I can bear the thought of him not being in the world somewhere. I’ll owe you a favor. Three favors. If you demand it, I won’t meet him ever again, only let me know that he is alive and safe. Swear to make it so.”

“Takashi…”

Hunk, **_please!_** ”

“I cannot promise that boy’s safety to you.”

“Then allow me to go to him. Let me _try_.”

“I cannot do that either.”

Hunk began to fade away, leaving Shiro alone in the empty jewel-bedecked hall. He reached out to grasp his shoulders, but he was only human and the Faerie Noble was gone.

The hall slowly filled with people. Not entering, but slowly fading into view like apparitions, mid-conversation, mid-drink, mid-kiss. The faces were unfamiliar to him, and he passed through the crowd unnoticed, making his way towards the thrones. As he came close he saw the Faerie Nobles, resplendent in court finery that put even the wealthiest nobles here to shame.

“Hunk! Lance!” Neither so much as batted an eyelid in response to his call.

He stomped closer, determined to argue his case with Hunk again. To plead with Lance – when he saw who they were conversing with.

His parents. Younger, with no gray hairs yet, but unmistakably his mother and father. And in his mother's arms was a baby. Himself as a baby.

“This is your memory,” He whispered, not looking at the phantom Hunk, but at nearby nobles’ faces, recognizing them now as allies and friends, years younger than even his earliest memories. "What do I need to see here?”

There was a great thunderclap followed by purple lightning and suddenly an unfamiliar Fae with long white hair and skin the color of his mother’s prize roses stood a horse length away from Shiro, glowering with malice at the royal couple.

* * *

 

It was midday when Shiro woke. He knew it even before he opened his eyes from the warmth of the day through the blanket that covered him. He opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding as if he’d just gone ten rounds with Armsmaster Iverson.

Hunk sat at his bedside, face a careful mask.

“What did you hit me with?”

“Levinbolt.”

“You knew about Keith. All three of you.”

“Yes.”

“I’m cursed. That’s why I’m hidden away out here. Why you’re watching over me. Because I’m cursed.”

Hunk didn’t answer that.

There was a mix of pain and anger in Shiro’s voice when he spoke again, and he wasn’t sure which emotion was stronger, “ _You should have told me._ ”


	9. The Village

\- Keith/Kogane -

 

It was nearly sundown before he reached the village. The ancient forest was far larger than he'd thought, and part of him feared he wouldn't be able to find Shiro again. Keith shook his head. 

_He couldn't accept that._

_Would never._

_He'd promised._

He rode into the village square, noting the bare marketplace as he passed and few, fearful villagers. Yet again, he wondered what had become of this kingdom's royal family and why they had not asked for aid against this disaster on their people.

The market square stood nearly empty, no people lingered outside the inn.

If not for the few residents he saw hustling between buildings and the occasional lit window, he'd think the place were empty. A heavyset man sat on the rim of a public fountain, staring placidly towards the inn's lights. 

Beneath him, his horse snorted uneasily, a shudder passing through her bright chestnut coat. He dismounted, stepping around to take her lead and patting her nose comfortingly, "Easy Rohit. We'll be back to the forest and Shiro soon enough."

Rohit turned her head, and there was something dubious in the way she looked down her long nose at him.

Kogane shook his head and smiled, "Don't give me that. You liked him too. He gave you an apple and cress."

The horse stomped one foot and tossed her head, warning Kogane to turn to the man that had left his perch by the fountain to greet them.

"Well met, good sir," Kogane said cheerfully, only turning enough to put the man in his peripheral vision, keeping most of his attention on Rohit and his supplies.

"Well met, stranger." The man stepped closer, voice friendly. "That is a fine beast you ride."

"My thanks for your compliment," Kogane shifted his jaw underneath the smile. "I've just arrived in town and was wondering the way to the local inn and common stables. Perhaps you could direct me?"

"With such a fine mount, surely you would want to stay in a finer place than this?"

"I'm just a traveler with a good horse. This village is more than fine enough for the likes of me."

"Very well, allow me to show you." 

The man gestured, and Kogane followed, one hand on Rohit's lead, the other resting on the hilt of his sword.  _Something about the man made him uneasy. He'd long ago learned to trust such instincts._

"This village has fallen on hard times, and you come at an ill time for them, Stranger."

"I noticed the lack of people out and about and the darkened windows," He feigned ignorance.  "What ill times?"

"A great scaled beast with an appetite for flesh and gold alike." The man said it in a hushed rush as if the name would summon it, "A dragon. Fafnir. It toppled the castle and what of the army it didn't slaughter fled and hid. Nothing remains to defend crown and kingdom."

"So the people suffer for it."

"Yes."

They reached the community stables and Kogane made sure Rohit was sheltered and taken care of, removing the packs himself and paying the stable master in advance before following his guide to a tavern and inn close by.

The mood within was quiet and somber with few patrons, and he bought his meal and a meal for his guide before the man could prompt him for the payment. "Sit with me. Share a meal. What else can you tell me of the beast?"

"What makes you think a humble man such as I knows more than I've already said?"

"I'm a traveler, so I cannot say for certain that the way you speak is strange for these lands, but it strikes me." Kogane rested his hands on the table, without threat, but there was something of a warning in it.  _He did not like being lied to. Shiro had secrets he did not divulge, but there was honesty and earnestness in every action that practically bled from him. This man oozed like slime with the intent to deceive._ "I do know the shape of armor under a cloak though. Your boots are strangely fine, worn as they are, for a simple village. A village, I note you call 'them', not 'us', and the other patrons do not meet your eyes. They know you, but do not take you as one of theirs."

"You're an observant man," He smirked. "And too educated and well-dressed yourself to be a simple traveler. What are you here for? To rob the ruins of the royal family? The dragon sits upon them still, you'll find poor opportunities to loot here."

"I'm here to help. The people."

"And what can you do for them?" The man scoffed, "For 'us'?"

"I'm going to kill the dragon."

The already quiet tavern went dead silent as all eyes openly turned on them.

Several heartbeats passed.

Then the guide started laughing, and the villagers scowled.

"You?! A boy alone will do what an army and a king could not?"

Kogane didn't waver, "I will."

The man laughed for a while more, before containing himself, wiping an eye with the edge of his cloak, "I'll give you this boy, you're brave. Go home and save your own hide."

"I will not."

He frowned, "You're not wanted here."

"Because the people don't want to be rid of the beast, or because it will embarrass you if I do what you could not?"

"Watch how you address me, boy. You don't know who you're speaking to."

"A ranked member of this kingdom's army at the very least," Kogane picked up his drink and took a long sip. "Perhaps a survivor of the royal family."

"He's King Ranveig," Supplied a nearby patron. "For all that crown's worth these days, sitting under a thousand pounds of dragon flesh."

Kogane arched an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised by the revelation of the man's identity, but he was surprised by the anger that it sparked in his gut. This man was their king. He should first and foremost act in the interests of his people. But he sat here, with a poor temper, referring to his suffering subjects as "them", complaining that his decimated army didn't continue to stand to defend the crown, and trying to turn away freely offered help.

He grit his teeth to maintain politeness, "Why would you deny my offer of aid, Your Highness?"

 

* * *

 

A little over an hour later, Kogane sat alone in a borrowed room of the tavern. He'd offered to pay, but the innkeeper had said he could stay for free if he truly meant to fight he dragon. They clearly had little hope of him winning, and the room had been given more out of pity than thanks.

He'd told them who he was after the King had berated him again, and the ruler's demeanor had changed instantly. He was suddenly polite and willing to tell all he knew of the dragon's behaviors and what had not worked in his own fight against the monster. He looked down on his people and had no respect for the skills of anyone without royal blood. Once he'd announced his heritage, Ranveig had deigned to treat him as something close to an equal. An equal he was perfectly willing to sacrifice if it meant a chance at regaining his throne, mind you, but he didn't think a commoner had a chance. He'd said something about base blood creating base people. He must know nothing of Volsung, where his mother's second marriage had been to a commoner, his own father, and they ruled side by side now. Keith's father was beloved in Volsung as Prince Consort.

Keith shook his head.

_No matter._

The man was detestable, but he had provided vital information for the upcoming fight. Whether or not he regained the throne after Kogane slew the beast would be a decision for the people to back or revolt against, not his decision to make as an outsider to their lands and culture. As best he could tell, that was all Ranveig wanted here, to regain his throne and riches, whatever the cost. The village was far enough from the dragon to not be in direct peril at the moment, but when the beast decided to stir again, this was the likeliest place it would come searching for food and more treasure. _It was that close._ The heaviness in the air was likely partially due to it's ambient magic. He suspected the king had been considering stealing Rohit in order to flee to a safer and friendlier climate and perhaps recruit help taking his lands back from a neighboring kingdom. He clearly wasn't beloved by the people here, although they still seemed to fear him a bit. Likely the armor wasn't just for show.

Which would explain why they were so certain Kogane wouldn't succeed.

_But he had to._

These people needed aid that wasn't coming from anywhere else. He had promised to try. And he had promised to return to Shiro as quickly as he could.

He wouldn't rush in without a plan, but he wouldn't waste time here just because he disliked the king.


	10. Contrive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fast chapter to get back in the swing of writing this.

\- Shiro/Takashi -

 

"Takashi?"

"No."

The Faerie Nobles exchanged glances and after a long silent moment, the others left, Lance carefully stepping into the study, perching on the edge of the desk where the prince pored over outdated maps and star charts.

Shiro still didn't speak or look up at him.

"Hunk wasn't meant to tell you that."

"So I was to be kept in the dark forever? How many was I to harm because I was cursed and didn't know it before someone told me?"

"You haven't harmed anyone."

"Really?" Takashi turned to him then, the fierceness of his mother echoed in silver eyes and the sharp tone of his voice, "Then tell me where he is? That he's safe and not walking into a dragon's maw?"

"Whatever happens to that boy is not your doing."

"A person who is cursed to fall into a sleep that drags the entire kingdom down with him falls in love before he should. So the fates conspire to send that person off to his death. How is that not my doing? He'll die before his time because I have feelings for him, because I wasn't allowed to feel that way before someone comes to wake me. How is that not my fault? I'm cursed, and I've doomed him!"

"We're doing everything we can to avoid the curse, Takashi."

"Including trying to keep me away from people I might harm." Shiro stood, a fist crumpling the paper beneath his hand, "In two days, I've destroyed one life already."

"The boy was headed to fight the dragon before he ever met you."

Shiro growled the words through clenched teeth, "You don't know that."

"Shiro, he may be fine. Have some faith--"

"You have spent years lying to me, keeping vital things from me, and now someone I care for will come to harm because if it," Shiro turned away, shoving a stack of charts further away on the desk. "Do not ask for my faith today. Leave me be. I do not wish to say something we will both regret."

He didn't look to ensure Lance had left, but after the silence stretched on without further argument, he let his head hang, eyes stinging. It was all his fault. If he'd never met Keith, the man would still be wandering the world, chasing stars. Discovering new constellations that Shiro might read of it one day in the far flung future and admire his work. Safely. From afar. But they'd met. He'd been drawn inexorably to the man with stars in his eyes, practically begging him to follow him into the mountains and chase the lights in the dark. _Just him. Not the prince of Agnar. He'd wanted Shiro's company._

He'd never wished for someone to see him beyond his title because it was so much of his life, so vital to his actions and choices, to put his kingdom and people first. He loved his kingdom and his job to serve them. It was important work and he liked the ambassadors and fellow royals he worked with to that end. He liked being who he was. Still, having been given that unasked for gift, he wanted to hold it close and savor it, that he was something more to someone outside of his position as Prince. _It was a strange new feeling to see himself beyond his role. To be seen beyond it._

And that indulgence would ruin not just him, but Keith as well.

He choked down the lump in his throat.

Beautiful, vital, passionate, intelligent Keith, all because he had the misfortune to meet him. He needed to fix it.

He shifted the star charts, to show the map beneath again. It was old, outdated, but it showed the edges of the Weald, a village beyond, and past that, a marker for a castle labeled only as "Anax". It would be the King's home, most likely the place a treasure-seeking dragon would roost, and where Keith would have been headed.

He slipped the map back underneath star charts and palmed the bottle he'd slipped into his pocket from Hunk's shelves. It hadn't been labeled with its intent, but Lance had taught him enough herb lore to put together its use from the ingredients. Datura for protection, sleep, and hex-breaking. Lily for protection and breaking love spells. The roots of a Forget-Me-Not, for the opposite of its usual effect. Together, the vial would act as a sleeping drought designed to break a love spell and encourage forgetfulness. Whatever part his curse had played in drawing Keith to him and this fate, it should reverse that, and ensure the man wasn't left searching him out again. It was the best he could do to protect Keith, to make sure he didn't recall having met to seek him out again.

Now, he just needed the opportunity to go find Keith, before the dragon did.

“Shiro?”

He looked up, refusing to rub at his eyes and the dampness gathered there.

Hunk stood in the doorway to the study, face distraught, “I was going to ask if you’d be joining us downstairs for dinner.”

Shiro forced his voice to smoothness, “I think that would be ill advised right now.”

“I understand,” the Faerie Noble seemed to wilt under his displeasure, and part of him regretted that. He’d known these three for years. Liked them. I was why he restrained his anger now, but he was still angry, and he did not think he was wrong to be such. “I’ll bring something up to you.”

“Thank you, Hunk.”

He was already turning away when Hunk spoke again, “I’m sorry for the pain we’ve caused you, but I think it was only fair you know the truth of things. I didn’t like keeping you in the dark.”

Shiro sighed, shoulders sagging as he looked out the closed window, all the windows were tightly closed and latched with Fae magic since his escape attempt, “I appreciate you telling me, but I am still upset at having been lied to until it was too late to prevent what harm I could cause.”

“Not all is as dark as it seems, Shiro. Have hope.”

“I will try.”


End file.
